PUBLISHED : 18 Jul 2023 at 04:11
NEWSPAPER SECTION: News
The newly discovered EG.5.1 subvariant of the Omicron strain is unlikely to replace the XBB.1.16 subvariant as the dominant Covid-19 mutation in Thailand because of its weakened ability to attach to the host cell, according to Ramathibodi Hospital’s Centre for Medical Genomics.
The centre said on Monday that while the number of cases involving the EG.5.1 subvariant has been on the rise across the world, the strain isn’t likely to cause a problem in Thailand.
Around 7% of all Covid-19 cases reported in China were caused by the EG.5.1 subvariant, compared to 0.336% in Thailand.